Allan Tannenbaum
The Music Photo Gallery · Represented Photographer
1960s–Present

Allan Tannenbaum

B. American Photographer · New York City · Music, Art & Photojournalism ·1960s–Present
Allan Tannenbaum
Portrait of the photographer
Biography

Allan Tannenbaum was born in Passaic, New Jersey in 1945. His interest in photography took root while he took a year off from Rutgers University to live in San Francisco in the mid-1960s, and he launched his career shooting the hippie scene and musicians like Jimi Hendrix. After a stint in the Merchant Marine, he moved to New York where he worked as a taxi driver and bartender while pursuing a photography position.

Landing a job with the SoHo Weekly News, then an eight-page giveaway newspaper, Allan served as the Chief Photographer and Photo Editor from its founding in 1973 until the publication closed in 1982. He documented New York art, politics, show biz, music, and nightlife, and is best known for his definitive coverage of the burgeoning New York City punk and new wave rock scene of the 1970s.

Since the mid-1980s, Allan has worked as a photojournalist covering news and features across the world, notably traveling to Kuwait and Iraq to document Operation Desert Storm. He has exhibited his fine-art photography worldwide and has published several books of his work including New York in the 70s (2003), John and Yoko: A New York Love Story (2007), and Grit and Glamour – The Street Style, High Fashion, and Legendary Music of the 1970s (2016). He continues to live and work in Manhattan.

In the artist's
own words
If I had a time machine, I would visit 1970 without thinking twice.
Allan Tannenbaum
Selected career exhibitions

Career Exhibitions

A selected record of museum and gallery presentations from Allan Tannenbaum's career.

Type
Exhibition
Venue
Year
Exhibition
"New York in the '70s"
Visa pour l'Image Festival (Perpignan, France)
1997
Exhibition
"Towers"
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow, Russia)
2004
Exhibition
"John Lennon: Unfinished Music"
Cité de la Musique (Paris, France)
2005
Exhibition
"John and Yoko: A New York Love Story"
Touring Exhibition
Since 2007
Moving image & archive

Films, Interviews
& Television

Documentaries, recorded interviews and television appearances from the archive.

Back to the Present
Documentary

Back to the Present

Documentary2024

A documentary portrait of photographer Allan Tannenbaum, tracing a career that spans more than five decades. From documenting New York City's music, art, and punk scene in the 1970s to covering major world events as a photojournalist, the film offers a rare look at the life and work of one of the city's most important visual chroniclers.

Members Only
Interview

Members Only

Interview2013

A conversation with photographer Allan Tannenbaum reflecting on a career that spans more than five decades. Best known for his work at the SoHo Weekly News, Tannenbaum discusses documenting New York City's music, art, politics, nightlife, and punk scene, creating one of the most important visual records of the city during the 1970s and 1980s.

Interview with Photojournalist Allan Tannenbaum
Interview

Interview with Photojournalist Allan Tannenbaum

Interview1985

In this archival interview, Allan Tannenbaum reflects on his early years as a photographer and his work documenting New York City's music, art, and cultural life. Best known for his photographs of the punk era, downtown Manhattan, and figures such as John Lennon, Patti Smith, and The Rolling Stones, Tannenbaum discusses the experiences that shaped one of the most important visual records of New York during the 1970s and 1980s.

Selected Press

In the press.

Rolling Stone Magazine

John & Yoko: A New York Love Story

Allan Tannenbaum photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono throughout November of 1980, the month before the death of Lennon. The couple were emerging from a self-imposed five year seclusion to prepare for the release of Double Fantasy, Lennon's final album. "John & Yoko: A New York Love Story" (Random House) is out now.

Interview Magazine

Photographer Allan Tannenbaum Saw
Elton John Come Alive at the Disco

From late 1973 until early 1982 I had one of the best jobs in New York City–I was the chief photographer for the SoHo Weekly News, a hip downtown paper focused mainly on the arts. My camera allowed me access to all aspects of life in the city, from politics to showbiz. For me, the most exciting subjects were the music scene and nightlife.

Retrofuturista

Allan Tannenbaum on SoHo in the 70s, John Lennon’s Final Days, and What Happened to New York’s Creative Soul

How a small downtown paper gave one photographer unrestricted access to the most documented decade in New York history